Area congressman gives portion of office money back to treasury

A group of conservative freshem lawmakers that includes Houma-Thibodaux's congressman returned more than $1.4 million that had been set aside for office spending to the federal treasury today.

Jeff Landry, R-New Iberia, and the others asked House Speaker John Boehner to use the money to help pay down the nation's $15 trillion debt.

“My colleagues and I voted against the disastrous Washington debt deal and the failed Super Committee. And my colleagues, members of the freshman class, have been stewards of the taxpayers' money when it comes to office spending, so much so that today we are returning nearly $1.5 million to protect the taxpayers,” Landry said in a news release. “But instead of just doing what Washington politicians would do – issue a press release, pat themselves on the back, and tell their constituents how great they are – today, we are calling on the Speaker to immediately use these funds to pay down our national debt.”

Landry said his office is returning $160,000, more than 11 percent of his office budget.

“While American families and small businesses have been struggling – cutting family budgets and making tough business decisions – the Washington politicians in Congress have continued to feed their addiction to spending," Landry said. "Enough is enough; Congress is not above the American people. We serve in the people's seats, and the people deserve better than Washington politicians saddling them with mountains of debt.”

In a letter to Boehner, Landry and seven of his conservative colleagues said: “As freshmen, we came to Congress promising to reduce red tape and eliminate Washington accounting gimmicks – ideals we know you share. We believe immediately transferring our unused MRA funding to debt relief demonstrates that we continue to focus on these principles and represents a stark contrast to President Obama's continued efforts to increase federal spending.”

You can read a copy of the letter in its entirety by clicking the link to the left of this article.

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